Water Sharpens Weapons
by marvelnerd2981
Summary: Can Percy and Clarisse's complicated relationship turn into romance? A series of Perisse oneshots. Enjoy and please review, also, prompts are always appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

"You've got to be kidding." I cross my arms and look at the centaur like he just suggested we go to the underworld for a picnic. All around me, Camp Half Blood is empty, except for about six stray campers and the cleaning Harpies.

"Now, now, you two. I'm sure there are other things you would," Chiron looks at the sword in my hand, "rather be doing."

"I wanted to practice fighting, like usual." I state firmly, eyes stony.

"The time for that will come later. We need someone to make food for the remaining campers and staff, and while you are the only two available at the moment, why not get it over with now?" The centaur rests a hand on Percy's shoulder with a sorrowful look, to which I roll my eyes. Throwing my unused sword on the ground, I stomp toward the kitchens.

"You're awfully quiet." I snap, pushing into the small area.

"Sorry..." The son of Poseidon mumbles. His eyes look dull and sad, and I frown while pulling an apron over my pants.

"Whats wrong?" Even I'm surprised at how gentle my voice sounds, like I'm afraid to harsh a tone will break him. He looks up at my question, eyes meeting mine in surprise. He stares as if looking to see if I'm making fun of him. After he decided I'm being genuine, he leans against the wall defeatedly.

"I, uhh..." He lets out an uneasy laugh. "I was really looking forward to seeing my mom over the holidays. And now... I'm stuck here, with no one to talk to." My brief moment of sympathy disappears and I bristle at his words. Turning and walking deeper into the kitchen briskly, I talk over my shoulder in clipped tones, wondering why what he said hurt me so much.

"I'm sorry I'm such a horrible person." My voice almost shakes but I control myself as I lean my hands on the countertop, pretending to look for a recipe.

"Oh, crap! Clarisse... I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! You know I... You're my... We're friends." He drops his forehead in his hands. "I'm an idiot, ok? I've just had a lot on my mind, and my mom usually helps me figure things out. But now, I can't see her!" He stumbles with his words. A little part of my anger waves a white flag of surrender. Still not looking at him, I fish a drachma out of my pocket and toss it in his direction.

"Iris message her later." I swallow the rest of my pride and finally turn to face Percy, who's looking at me like he's never seen me before. "What, Jackson?!" I give him an irritated look. He only smiles back mischievously.

"Nothing. So, what are we cooking?" He walks around the counter island and flips through an old recipe book that lies on top of a cabinet. After a second, he turns to face me, a piece of paper held triumphantly in his hand. With a devious smile, he starts toward me. "No one said we had to make DINNER." He holds the recipe out to me. Its for chocolate chip cookies. I look at him, amused.

"Challenge," I pluck the recipe from his hands. "Accepted." I make my way to the oven and preheat it to the temperature on the little index card. I can't help but notice that Percy looks a lot more cheerful as he watches me. Before long, he has sugar, flour, and other ingredients laid out in front of us. I grab a mixing bowl, but he grabs the ancient bag of chocolate chips we dug up. Popping a few in his mouth, I try to ignore him and turn back to measuring the sugar.

After a moment, I feel what I'm pretty sure is a chocolate chip hit me square the back.

"You are SUCH a child, Jackson." I grumble, although I want to smile.  
I disregard the next two chips, but on the fourth, I spin around and throw a handful of flour at him. "STOP IT." I laugh. He laughs too and pushes himself off the table he had been sitting on.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sue me!" He starts cracking eggs into the bowl, jokingly pushing me out of the way. I halfheartedly roll my eyes as he grabs the big metal spoon and starts mixing the dough furiously.  
We start putting the chocolate studded batter on the cookie sheet, and I notice he's eating some.

"You're not supposed to eat raw cookie dough, idiot." I joke, helping myself to some. He rolls his eyes at me and opens the oven, the heat hitting me square in the face. I step back and let him slide the tray onto the racks, and turn away to set the egg timer near my elbow.  
When I look up from my work, he's looking at me, arms crossed.

"What do you want, Jackson?" I raise my eyebrows.

"Thanks for the drachma, you know, for my mom." His face is suddenly serious. I'm taken aback by his spontaneous, but genuine, gratitude. I allow myself a tiny smile.

"Whatever, Percy."  
Some of his usual playful light returns, and he looks surprised.

"You called me Percy." Heat rushes to my cheeks, and not just because of the oven. I shrug a little and turn to watch the cookies rise. All of a sudden, white powder sprays on my cheek, staining my shirt. I swivel my head to look at him just as he reaches for another scoop of flour.

"You are so dead!" I exclaim, half serious, as I lunge for the bag of sugar. For the first time that day, or in a while, really, I laugh freely. We run around the kitchen, ambushing each other with baking ingredients. By the time we come to a stop, both of us are thankful we're wearing aprons. I laugh to myself as I try to catch my breath, leaning across from him on the table. For a moment, things go back to the boring usual.

Suddenly, the egg timer shrieks loudly, and I jump forward, heart racing. I fall into Percy and almost lose my balance, but his arms close around me and keep me steady. We start laughing again, and he tips my chin up, gently bringing our lips together. What surprises me more than the kiss was that I kissed him back, readjusting my arms as I press into him. We stay like that, kissing, for a long time, and the smell of burning cookies fills the air.


	2. Chapter 2

My knuckles are white with cold wrapped around the hilt of my sword, the training dummies looming like ghostly figures in the dusk. My teeth chatter uncontrollably so I clench them closed, my jaw spasming with the effort. I swing my sword tirelessly until it feels like ice water runs through my veins instead of blood. Time ticks by, and the last remaining campers retire to their warm beds and blankets, but I continue.  
When I can't bring myself to practice anymore, I drop my blade, shivering.  
As I turn toward the Ares cabin, imagining what my godly father would say if he saw me right now ("Shivering is for the weak!"), I hear leaves crunching and a few twigs snapping to my left. Thinking of the sharp teeth of the cleaning harpies, instincts launch me behind a tree. My battle honed hearing doesn't hear the she-beasts wings, but heavy, male footsteps. I continue to stay behind the trunk, the curiosity evident in the smirk on my face, freezing air momentarily forgotten.

I wait for the footfalls to grow fainter before creeping out and setting off after them.  
Silvery moonlight outlines everything in front of me, and an icy breeze gently lifts the bangs off of my forehead, but I continue on indifferent, following the sound of the feet. They stop abruptly and after a moment, I hear a faint splash. I cock an eyebrow and swallow the realization that I left my sword in the training arena. Feeling oddly vulnerable without it, I continue walking towards the eerie sounds and find myself on the dock of the canoeing lake. A narrow plane of moonlight illuminates a shadowy figure disappearing under the water briefly before a black haired head resurfaces.  
Its Percy. He turns and sees me watching him and jumps, as do I as his emerald eyes gleam in the silver light. I blame my start on the cold, and the flutter in my stomach on exhaustion. He smirks bashfully and runs his fingers through his soaked locks.

"You caught me." He holds his hands above the water in mock surrender. I can just see the curves of his collar bone in the dark, and I back away a step. He looks around before pulling himself up on the dock, seemingly trying not to make any noise. He's wearing red and blue plaid shorts, and water drips off his arms. I stop myself from staring at his chest, surprised at how comfortable he looks even though he should have hypothermia by now.

"Nice undies, Jackson." I quip in a voice that doesn't sound like my own. He smiles and our eyes meet.

"Care to join me?"

"I'm good." I say, with what I hope is a contemptuous nod. "I, uh, I don't really swim." He cocks his head to the side in confusion, making water droplets rain on the dock. "You know, Jackson. It's pretty late. Maybe the cleaning harpies want to have a dip with you."

"And maybe they want to have a quick sparring session with you, Miss La Rue." He jokes. I roll my eyes halfheartedly before turning away.

"Whatever, Jackson." As I begin to walk back up to the cabins, I feel arms wrapped around me from behind, soaking wet arms. I gasp and attempt to free myself. He's going to jump off the dock and take me with him. I start to shout out but then my stomach drops and frosty water seeps through my t-shirt. He releases me and falls away, laughing. I can feel my heart racing and I fight off tears. My feet struggle to find the bottom, and I fall under the surface, accidentally inhaling water. My throat and nose on fire, I feel him grab the sides of my arms again, supporting me. The laughter is gone and he looks worried.

"You moron! When I said I don't swim, I mean that I can't!" I cough violently. "I'm... I'm afraid of the water, ok?! There, I said it! Happy now?!" I struggle to get back to the dock, but his grip on me is too firm. "Let go of me, Percy!" A small sob escapes me and my tired body gives out, and I go tense. Breathing heavily, I bring myself to look at him. He keeps a gentle hold on my arms and brings us to a spot where my toes comfortably find the mucky bottom.

Once I regain a bit of strength, I try to wiggle free of him again and get back to shore. Panic prickles my skin, mixing with goose bumps. I hear him calmly shushing me.

"Clarisse. It's ok, it's ok. I won't let you go. I promise. I'll never let you go." His oath reaches my ears and calms me a bit, but the panic surging through my veins makes me continue to shake violently. Sobs escape me as I shudder and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block our reality. I want to be brave. I need to be brave.

Forcing myself to open my eyes, I put my shivering arms around his neck and kiss him on the mouth, leaning against him both for warmth and comfort. He responds tentatively at first before putting his arms protectively around my back. After a few moments, we pull away for air, but I'm still breathless. However, the water doesn't seem as cold, or as threatening with his arms around me. I lean my damp forehead against his and laugh, as my heart rate soon gets back to normal.

"If you ever tell anyone I'm afraid of the water, I'll run you through with my spear." He laughs lightly and we stay pressed together, catching our breaths.

After we emerge from the water, he picks up a garment from the base of a tree: a flannel shirt that he must have left here before going swimming. He drapes it around my shoulders, and wraps his arm around me again. Suddenly, as though a sponge went over my body, I'm dry and considerably much warmer.  
"Little perk of being the son of Poseidon." He whispers in my ear. I shake my head as he walks me back to my cabin.


	3. Chapter 3

The last Hephaestus camper left the movie room as the clock chugged to 1:13 AM, leaving me and Clarisse alone in the dark, on opposite ends of the ratty couch. Sleep was gently tugging on my mind but I resisted, as the daughter of Ares and I were silently daring each other to doze off first.

My attention wandered as my ADHD and sleep deprivation combined, and my thoughts grasped wildly for something to distract it from the sweet nothingness of slumber. As my explosions echoed in my peripheral vision, and brightness briefly lit up the dark room, my gaze fell on Clarisse.

It's funny how night time makes things look different. Clarisse looked much softer than usual in loose pajama pants and a plain white tank top. Her brown hair was out of its usual ponytail and was laying on her bare shoulders.

I hated how she kind of looked hot.

Woah. Snap out of it, Jackson. My brain switched to auto pilot and I started rambling to distract myself.

"Did you know that they actually went to the desert to film this movie?" Gods, what a stupid thing to say.

"Is that so?" She glanced at me and our gazes locked. She shifted positions on the couch so that her legs were stretched out in front of her and her back was slightly to me, an action that dramatically spliced the space between us. Clarisse looked half unconscious; fatigue was dancing in her brown eyes.  
I wasn't used to her looking so vulnerable. It was a pleasant change from "I can kill you with my bare hands" Clarisse, and I liked it. I liked how soft her skin looked, and how the flickering light from the TV shimmered on her drooping eyelashes. I soon found myself staring, a small, mesmerized half smile on my face.

Quickly, I shook myself back to reality. I started stammering, struggling to regain a tangible train of thought.

"Yeah, um, all the actors had to get shots so they didn't get sick, and they rode camels to the set on good days..." I trailed off as Clarisse laid her head on my chest, eyes closed lightly. The feeling sent flutters into my stomach and my heart started pounding in my ears. "Um-" I started, figuring I should help her get back to her cabin, even though I desperately wanted to stay in our current position.

"Shh." She cut me off sleepily, bringing her hand up next to her cheek, right below my collarbone.

Admitting to myself how happy the fact that we were basically cuddling made me, I reached for a pillow, trying as best as I could not to disturb her. As I adjusted it beneath my head and settled in, a thought occurred to me. Swallowing my fear, I hesitantly wrapped an arm around her back, cupping my hand protectively on her waist and holding her closer to me. She didn't snap my neck right then and there, that was a good sign. I let myself breathe again as she relaxed into me, and when I looked down again, I just barely saw a blush creep on her cheeks and a tiny smile ghost her mouth.


End file.
